NFL Hall of Fame: Will Former Giants Coach Bill Parcells Get Enshrined in 2013?

The upcoming class for the 2013 NFL Hall of Fame has a lot of intriguing names on it.

There's Larry Allen, Warren Sapp, Jonathan Ogden and former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, who are all eligible for the first time.

Then there is former head coach Bill Parcells, who is on the ballot for the third time.

Some people are still surprised that Parcells has yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, but yet, he's on his third attempt to get in.

Parcells was in line to take over several different coaching opportunities (Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) but decided not to take their job offers and may have burned the bridge with the media and former executives of those organizations.

Despite his troubles with the media in the past, it's hard to argue what Parcells did as an NFL coach and later on, as an NFL executive.

Let's look back at Parcells' career and determine if he'll get in for 2013.

New York Giants Head Coach (1983-1990)

After serving as the team's defensive coordinator from 1981-1982, Bill Parcells succeeded Ron Erhardt as the head coach for 1983.

His first season was a disaster at 3-12-1 and some even questioned if he was the right guy for the job.

The Giants stuck with Parcells and got results as the team finished 9-7 in 1984 and 10-6 in 1985 and got to the playoffs for the first time, making it to the NFC divisional round.

In 1986, the Giants finished with the best record in the NFL at 14-2, beat the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins to get to Super Bowl XXI and as underdogs, knocked off the John Elway-led Denver Broncos 39-20 and guided the Giants to their first-ever championship.

The Giants missed the playoffs in 1987 at 6-9 and again despite finishing 10-6 in 1988 but got back to the postseason in 1989 at 12-4, but they were eliminated in the NFL division round.

In 1990, the Giants went 13-3 and defeated the Chicago Bears and 49ers to get to Super Bowl XXV, where again, they were the underdogs against the Buffalo Bills.

The Giants triumphed 20-19 after Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard game-winning field goal wide right, and the Giants had won their second championship under Parcells.

Following the 1990 season, Parcells decided to retire for the first time, citing health reasons.

To this day, Parcells is still considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest coach in Giants history and built a tremendous legacy in New York.

New England Patriots Head Coach (1993-1996)

In 1992, Bill Parcells had a handshake agreement to become the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, but at the last second, turned it down.

In 1993, Parcells succeeded Dick MacPherson as the new head coach of the New England Patriots and attempted to improve a team that went 2-14 in 1992.

His first year was a losing season in 1993, but they did improve on their record, going 5-11.

In 1994, the Patriots won the division and got to the playoffs for the first time since 1986 but lost to the Cleveland Browns, who were coached by his former defensive coordinator in New York, Bill Belichick.

The Packers were just too much for the Patriots in New Orleans and Parcells tasted defeat for the first time in the Super Bowl as his team lost 35-21.

Following the season, Parcells decided to leave after he had several disagreements with owner Robert Kraft, which is where the famous quote, "They want you to cook the dinner, they at least should let you ought to shop for the groceries," came from after Kraft vetoed some of Parcells' draft choices.

Parcells had one year left on his deal for 2007 but decided to retire again for good as an NFL head coach.

Before stepping away from Dallas, there had been rumors circulating that Parcells was interested in the Giants general manager job, taking that from the retiring Ernie Accorsi, but apparently the Giants weren't interested.

Parcells' Coaching Tree

A lot of Bill Parcells' longtime assistants have gone on to become great head coaches in the NFL.

The best one, of course, is Bill Belichick, who was Parcells' defensive coordinator with the Giants, Patriots and Jets.

Belichick has won three Super Bowls with the Patriots in five tries and has built a dynasty in New England over the last 13 years.

Another Parcells successor is Tom Coughlin, who first coached the Jacksonville Jaguars and then the New York Giants. Coughlin was a wide receivers coach under Parcells when the Giants won the Super Bowl in 1990.

Coughlin has won two Super Bowls with the Giants in 2007 and 2011.

Then there is Sean Payton, who served as Parcells offensive coordinator while with the Cowboys.

Payton took the New Orleans Saints job, turned that franchise around and won the Super Bowl during the 2009 season.

Other notable assistant coaches that went on to become head coaches were Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Al Groh, Tony Sparano and Eric Mangini.

Final Verdict: Hall of Famer

When you take a look at the 22 years Bill Parcells was a head coach, his numbers are impressive.

He was 172-130-1 in the regular season, 11-8 in the playoffs and won two Super Bowls while finishing as a runner-up in another one.

Parcells was an unknown coordinator who took the Giants from being a push-around and made them into an NFL powerhouse in the 1980s and early 1990s.

He also took sputtering franchises like the Patriots, Jets and Cowboys and made them into playoff teams again.

And then after being an NFL head coach, he had success as an NFL executive and got the Dolphins back to winning for a short time.

Whether you love him or hate him, you can not argue with the success Parcells has had in the NFL.

Every team he came across became a winner, and he got the best out of all his players.

I don't even think the media he ticked off in the past will be able to keep him out a third straight time, as Parcells should take his rightful place in Canton and in the NFL Hall of Fame for the Class of 2013.